NBA Season 2025-26

[Phantom255x]

Uh oh, Giannis left with an injury. Looks like it could be a calf injury

[Moranis]

Giannis may want to be a Knick, but a team like the Spurs or Mavs makes far more sense

I agree with the Spurs but why do you say the Mavs? Do you mean from his perspective or the Bucks?

I think he would have a better chance to win with the Knicks because of the East than with the Mavs. If you think from the Bucks perspective then that is only the case if the Mavs trade Flagg and salaries for him but then I am not sure how good the Mavs will be if that makes sense to try and win with this team.

It would take a fair amount of players to make it work so they'd probably need a 3rd team but a general framework of something like this

Giannis, Prince for Flagg, Christie, Lively, Gafford, Marshall, Martin, couple of 1st

Post-trade that would leave the Mavs - Davis, Giannis, Washington, Thompson, and Irving once he is back as the starting unit.  They have D. Russell who would start now until Irving is back and then be a solid 6th man.  Hardy, Powell, Exum, Prince, and Williams is a decent enough bench.  The real question on that trade is how well can Giannis and Davis play together.  If they can, the talent is definitely there with Irving for them to win the title.  Health obviously a huge issue with that team though.

[Moranis]

Giannis may want to be a Knick, but a team like the Spurs or Mavs makes far more sense

Or the Celtics.  I like Giannis and Brown or Giannis and Tatum more than I like Brown and Tatum.

That is fair, but I'm not sure the Bucks would want an injured Tatum who is inferior at his best or a much more inferior Brown as the main piece coming back.  Boston simply doesn't have the young player assets or high level draft picks that it would typically take in this sort of trade. 

[Who]

R.I.P. Elden Campbell.

Bummer.

He played some fun teams to watch.

* 1991 Lakers with Magic Johnson. Old Worthy. Young Vlade Divac. Prime Sam Perkins, AC Green, Byron Scott. Elden as a young rookie and deep bench player.

* Showtime II 1994-96 with Nick Van Exel, Cedric Ceballos, Eddie Jones and Vlade Divac. The Magic Johnson comeback in 1996.

* Early Shaq Lakers-era 1996-99. Horry, E Jones, young Kobe, Van Exel.

* Those Eddie Jones Hornets teams with Anthony Mason 1999 & 2000. Bobby Phills, David Wesley, David Coleman, JR Reid.

* The Baron Davis & Jamal Mashburn 2000-03 Hornets. Along with PJ Brown. David Wesley. Great starting 5. Not much of a bench. Could have been a title contender with a better bench.

* The 2004 & 2005 Pistons teams as a deep bench player. Chauncey, Rip, Tayshaun, Sheed, Big Ben.


Spent almost his entire career on some of the most fun teams in the league. Always enjoyed watching him play.

[Phantom255x]

Cavaliers lose again, this time to the Blazers. Not sure what's up with them this year

[Phantom255x]

So the Hawks have played 23 games, and Porzingis has missed 11 of them. He just missed his 4th straight game with... illness. Has it not gone away??

[Who]

Giannis + Kuzma + Prince
for
Towns + Bridges + McBride

Could be done on Feb 1 I believe.

The Knicks should target Myles Turner in the trade. They need a stretch 5 to play with Giannis. Or even Bobby Portis as a 2nd option. To have a legit big man next to Giannis who can shoot.

NY after that trade without M Turner

(1) Brunson, J Hart, Anunoby, Giannis, M Robinson

M Robinson is a non-shooter. Giannis has a midrange shot but not an outside shot. Hart is a dodgy shooter. Maybe they start a more limited specialist in Landry Shamet instead of J Hart. It still isn't a team with great (or even middle of the pack) shooting.

(2) Brunson, Shamet, J Hart, Anunoby, Giannis

Their best team will probably be Giannis at center. They do not have much interior muscle to help him though. Anunoby is more of a SF/PF. Portis was a legit PF. It is more like what MIL had with Kuzma at PF next to Giannis at C which did not work well. OG much better than Kuzma though.

(3) Brunson, J Hart, Anunoby, Yabusele, Giannis

Yabu is a big body but I don't he provides enough help defensively or rebounding wise to start him. He is slow footed as a team defender and puts pressure on others. I would keep him on the bench.

---------------------

2nd line of thought on this ...

Why is Brunson & Giannis any better than Lillard & Giannis?

Brunson is even more ball dominant. Even less of a shooter. And more of a one-on-one player than Lillard is.

Is that even a good pairing? It looks dysfunctional to me.

I don't think the Knicks are a genuine title contender with Giannis and Brunson. I don't think the pairing will work. I don't think the rest of the lineup works well with Giannis. I think they would have more work to do to readjust the lineup. Getting Myles Turner in the deal would go a long way to achieving.

But ... I'd probably trade Brunson for a different co-star to play alongside Giannis than keep the two of them.

[Who]

Giannis + Kuzma + Prince
for
Towns + Bridges + McBride

Could be done on Feb 1 I believe.

.....

But ... I'd probably trade Brunson for a different co-star to play alongside Giannis than keep the two of them.

On a different note, how about trading Brunson for Giannis and keeping Towns instead.

G: Mikal Bridges
G: J Hart
F: Anunoby
F: Giannis (point Giannis)
C: Towns

6th man: Mitchell Robinson. You still have Yabu, J Clarkson, McBride. 9 deep. Some solid deep bench pieces beyond that.

I prefer that team to the teams with Brunson & Giannis.